Taser use commencement close to arriving at U. Iowa
By Vess Mitev The Daily Iowan
Monday April 22 06:39 PM EDT

(U-WIRE) IOWA CITY, Iowa -- University of Iowa Public Safety officers are expected to begin training early this
morning in preparation for the April 29 debut of the Taser M26.
The week-long course will include technical skills and tactical training, as well as eight hours of instructional
reading and analysis, master instructor and Public Safety Lt. Steve Stange said. The move comes after a two-and-ahalf-year campaign by Public Safety officials to arm officers with nonlethal weapons.
The M26 shoots two small darts into a target up to 21 feet away and uses compressed nitrogen to deliver 50,000
volts of electricity, causing immediate loss of neuromuscular control.
"Upon completion, our officers will be extremely educated and confident with the weapon," Stange said.
All 30 officers will be armed, said Duane Papke, assistant director of Public Safety.
"Prior to this, when an officer responded to a situation like a domestic assault or a fight in progress, we had no
means to overpower someone with a knife," Papke said. "Now, our officers won't have to have close combat with
anyone."
The Tasers resemble and cost roughly the same as a regular-issue handgun. Each officer will be given three one-time
cartridges, Stange said.
"This will not be a heavily used piece of equipment," he said. "We will use it only when we have to."
Only officers who wish to become instructors are required to take a blast from the Taser to complete the training,
said Chuck Green, UI assistant vice president of Public Safety. Whether officers have been shocked will not affect
their credibility in case they have to testify in court, he said.
However, officers are encouraged to take the shock because it is as much a part of the training as reading the
instruction manual, Stange said.
"It's important to know how it feels -- so you can know what to do if you have to deploy it," he said.
Public Safety officers will be expected to pass a technical and physical test before they are issued the M26.
University Heights Police Chief Brian Shimon, whose officers have used Tasers for a year, said there have been
several instances when a Taser was drawn but never fired.
"It's an extremely effective deterrent," he said. "Suspects see the laser sight, the electric spark dancing and they
usually comply."
The UI remains the only school in the Big 10 whose officers don't carry lethal-force weapons. Public Safety officials
say the Taser is a step forward but they would still like to see the force armed with handguns some time in the
future.

East Central Indiana

Iowa Campus Safety to Carry TASERs
Tuesday, April 23, 2002
Associated Press

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) _ Coming soon to public safety officers at the University of Iowa: the Taser M26 stun gun.
The campus' 30 officers started training this week with the non-lethal weapon, which can hit targets with 50,000
volts of electricity, causing immediate loss of nerve and muscle control. They'll learn technical skills and complete
eight hours of instructional reading before they hit the streets with the gun next week.
The Taser's arrival at the university comes two-and-a-half years after public safety officials requested that officers
be armed with non-lethal weapons.
"Prior to this, when an officer responded to a situation like a domestic assault, or a fight in progress, we had no
means to overpower someone with a knife," Public Safety Assistant Director Duane Papke said. "Now, our officers
won't have to have close combat with anyone."
A version of the stun gun available to the public can be bought without a permit in 43 states, Taser International Inc.
officials say.

,,-.'
.com

Stun gun training starts

By Heather Woodward
Iowa City Press-Citizen

Tuesday, April 23, 2002
A weeklong training session for University of Iowa police officers preparing to carry Air Taser brand stun guns
began Monday
"They're getting trained in the proper use of the taser," said Capt. Lawrence
Langley, an officer with UI's Department of Public Safety.
Training will include instruction on UI's policy regarding the use of force,
written testing, question-and-answer sessions, a firing lesson and a final test
that officers will have to pass.
"Once they pass the test, all the officers will carry tasers," said Chuck Green,
UI's director of public safety.
Green said he hopes all officers will be equipped with tasers by the end of
the month, which should happen unless an occurrence on campus takes the
officers away from their training.
Chuck Green, director of the University
of Iowa Department of Public Safety,
holds an Air Taser brand stun gun. UI
police officers are being trained to use
the stun guns. Press-Citizen/Deb Barber

After the training is complete, the department plans to hold a demonstration of the tasers for the media, allowing the
public to get a better idea of how the devices work.
In January, the Iowa state Board of Regents unanimously approved a proposal from UI, Iowa State University and
the University of Northern Iowa to arm campus police with the weapons.
At UI, 31 of 46 officers - the regents also approved a change in title from public safety officers to police officers will carry stun guns.
Both UI Student Government and Staff Council voted overwhelmingly in favor of equipping officers with the stun
guns. Meanwhile, the UI Faculty Senate approved the measure in a divided 24-18 vote.
In February, the UI Parents Association allocated $12,000 for the public safety department to purchase tasers. The
total price for each taser, holster and cartridge is about $520, bringing the total cost for equipping UI's 31 officers to
$16,120.
That cost does not include money for officer training, including one officer's trip to visit the stun gun manufacturer
and go through training in Las Vegas.